Monday, December 3, 2012

No Heartburn with a Nostalgic Eighties Gourmet Veggie Pasta

Earlier this year America lost a wonderful writer and filmmaker, Nora Ephron. I first encountered Ms. Ephron's writings through her collections of essays, like "Scribble, Scribble" and "Crazy Salad", books passed on to me by girlfriends whose passion for Ephron's humor and worldview became my own.

When I subsequently read through "Heartburn", (NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1983), her semi-autobiographical novel about chef Rachel Samstat, who loses her way during her second husband's adultery, I knew she would always be a part of my pantheon of favorite authors.

I was delighted when "Heartburn" became the featured selection of Cook the Books, a bimonthly foodie book club that I and three of my good blogger buddies co-host. Simona, of the blog, Briciole, is the host of this round of Cook the Books, and she has enlisted Laura Lippstone, a big Ephron fan and blogger at Planet Lippstone, to serve as guest judge of the posts that we all write featuring our book selection and the foods we cook up inspired by our reading.

Dipping back into "Heartburn" was a nostalgic read: there was the nostalgia of seeing that great dust jacket art, the familiarity of sinking back into Ephron's words like having a cozy conversation with a great friend that one hasn't seen in a bunch of years, and nostalgia for the 1980s world that pervades its pages. Ephron describes Samstat's longing for the great produce sections of New York City supermarkets and gourmet shops that she left behind when she moved to Washington D.C. and that made me remember how arugula and twelve different kinds of peppers didn't used to be a common site at the average food store.

And then there was that passage that made me laugh out loud when I first read and reread it to my friends back in the early Eighties, and which I read and snorted through and reread to my husband now that we're in the 2000-teens."When
I was in college, I had a list of what I wanted in a husband. A long
list. I wanted a registered Democrat, a bridge player, a linguist with
particular fluency in French, a subscriber to THE NEW REPUBLIC, a tennis
player. I wanted a man who wasn’t bald, who wasn’t fat, who wasn’t
covered with too much body hair. I wanted a man with long legs and a
small ass and laugh wrinkles around the eyes. Then I grew up and settled
for a low-grade lunatic who kept hamsters. At first I thought he was
charming and eccentric. And then I didn’t. Then I wanted to kill him.
Every time he got on a plane, I would imagine the plane crash, and the
funeral, and what I would wear to the funeral and flirting at the
funeral, and how soon I could start dating after the funeral.” (p.83)My homage dish to Heartburn is one that celebrates the dazzling bounty of what the grocery store produce aisle features most any time of the year (alright, the locavore in me is conflicted about how great that bounty is in terms of carbon footprints). I made this great pasta dish after sniping the recipe from my cousin-in-law Diane, a fabulous cook. I added some cubed winter squash, because I have an abundance and threw in some diced tomatoes, too, cause I had some hanging around, but otherwise it's Diane's fantastic recipe. It's delicious and I can assure you that it won't give you Heartburn:Diane's Eighties Gourmet Pasta1 small eggplant, peeled and diced small1 small Delicata squash (or other winter squash), peeled, seeded and cubed (about 1 cup)1 each red and yellow bell pepper, diced small1 red onion, peeled and diced2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced3 plum tomatoes, medium chop1/3 cup olive oil1-1/2 tsp. kosher salt1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper1 lb. of your favorite small pasta shape (Diane uses orzo, I used GF rigatoni)Pasta Dressing:Juice of one lemon1/3 cup olive oilKosher salt and pepper4 scallions, minced (I used chives)1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted (I used walnuts)3/4 cup feta, diced (not crumbled)1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into julienneToss all of the vegetables in the first part above with garlic, 1/3 cup olive oil, salt and pepper on a cookie sheet. Coat thoroughly with oil and then roast in a 425 degree oven until browned, turning at least once with a spatula.Cook pasta and drain. Toss with roasted vegetables. Mix dressing and pour over pasta and vegetables.

Gently toss in scallions, nuts, feta and basil.

Serve at room temperature. Serves 6-8.

Diane says to try throwing in some cremini mushrooms, yellow and green squash or zucchini, if you want.

Simona will be rounding up all the delicious Hearburn blog posts back at the Cook the Books site after today's deadline, so be sure to stop by and see what everyone cooked up. And don't forget to join us in reading, cooking and blogging up our thoughts about "The Hunger Games", by Suzanne Collins, both book and film, for our next round of Cook the Books!

That's a really nice dust jacket! I enjoyed reading your reaction of nostalgia to reading the book. A pretty pasta dish for sure (as an aside, I have started experimenting with handmade GF pasta ;). Thank you so much for your contribution to this edition of Cook the Books!

I love the passage you shared :) I also like the addition of eggplant in the pasta YUMM! My name is Cindy and I blog over at Vegetarianmamma.com I wanted to invite you to link up your recipe at our Gluten Free Fridays Recipe Link up party! It happens every Friday and we'd love to have you join us with some of your awesome recipes! It doesn't mean that you have to be a gluten free bloggers. If you have some recipes on your blog that are gluten free that counts! :) Many recipes are naturally gluten free.Also be sure to link up your blog on our Gluten Free Bloggers directory. You can reach the directory by clicking the "glutenfree bloggers" tab on our blog! Thanks, Cindy :) PS, we are starting the party early! It will be live Thursday night at 7:05 Eastern Time.

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This blog is an original work of creative expression by Rachel Jagareski. All photos, text, and original recipes herein are copyrighted by the author/artist Rachel Jagareski (c) 2007-2015. All rights are reserved by the author. Please contact me for permission to republish or broadcast any material beyond your own personal use. Thank you.